According to the investigation report from the Toms River Police Department Traffic Safety Unity, obtained by NJ Advance Media, Lacey Police officer Anthony Slota did not have on his emergency lights or sirens activated when responding to a call at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant.
LACEY TWP. -- A Lacey police officer who struck and killed a 25-year-old man in July did not have his emergency lights activated or siren on as he raced to a call, an investigation report said.
The July 5 incident, which left Toms River resident Neil Van De Putte dead, remains under investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Toms River Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office.
According to the investigation report by the Toms River Police Department Traffic Safety Unity, obtained by NJ Advance Media, Lacey Police officer Anthony Slota did not have his emergency lights activated or sirens on when responding to a call at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant. The report also said "it is not unreasonable that Officer Slota exceeded the speed limit" while responding to the call.
The speed limit in the area was 45 mph. According to the police report, Slota's car speedometer was stuck at 59 mph after the crash.
Van De Putte's mother, Yvonne Yaar-Sharkey, said Ocean County Prosecutor's Office investigators told her in a Tuesday meeting that Slota was traveling at 80 mph prior to the crash.
Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said he will take a look at the speed the officer was traveling from the point he entered the road right up until impact. He said under Title 39, the state's motor-vehicle code, an officer is exempt from speed regulations when responding to call. But Coronato said he needs to look at all the facts before determining if any criminal charges will be filed.
"There's been no determination made at this point that this officer will face charges or not," he said.
Slota could also face disciplinary action from his own department.
Chief David A. Paprota said in an email on Thursday that the Lacey Township Police Department has a "very explicit and thorough policy governing response procedures," and that a "proper internal investigation will be conducted" once the prosecutor's office finishes its investigation.
"Since the prosecutor's office handles the determination related to the law," he said, "the police department's investigation will be in accordance with the New Jersey Attorney General Guidelines on Internal Affairs to determine whether violations of department policies and procedures occurred."
Yaar-Sharkey said she will not rest easy until justice is served, and feels the nature of the call did not enlist such a heightened response.
"He was going to a drunken disorderly call," she said. "If I knew that he was going to a call and he was trying to save somebody's life, it would be a lot easier to swallow. I still wouldn't be happy about my son's death, but there would be more perspective (to it)."
The Call
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Slota was traveling eastbound on Lacey Road at around 3:25 a.m. when he hit Van De Putte as he crossed the road at the intersection of Deerhead Lake Road.
According to the Toms River police investigation report, a security guard at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant contacted Lacey police and reported that two males, who appeared to be drunk, were on the south bridge "kicking the fence and horsing around."
An aerial view of the Oyster Creek Generating Station, a nuclear power plant in Forked River, on the Atlantic Ocean near the New Jersey shore. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images).A copy of the police call log on the morning of July 5, obtained by NJ Advance Media through an open public records request, shows a report of a "suspicious incident" at the power plant, located off Route 9, came in at 3:17 a.m.
Here's how the Lacey police dispatcher described the report: "Called in by the power plant, there's going to be two individual males on the south bridge, intoxicated. The caller said they were a little roughhousing the security guards at the power plant."
Slota was not actually the officer dispatched to the call, the report said, however he was the "Officer in Charge" at that time and responded to provide assistance.
The investigation report also notes a press release issued by the Division of Homeland Security on June 26, warning law enforcement of the "threat of terrorism."
"Particularly with the upcoming July 4th holiday ... we are encouraging all law enforcement to be vigilant and prepared," the release stated.
Due to this press release, the investigation report states, the call from Oyster Creek security "increased the concern and threat level."
'The Road Was Clear'
Van De Putte was home from college, visiting friends, for the Fourth of July weekend. He went to two house parties that night, the investigation report said. Van De Putte was walking home from a party with his friend, Max Dolphin, when the incident occurred. Dolphin is the only witness to the crash.
Dolphin told NJ Advance Media by phone that he and Van De Putte had been drinking. They brought skateboards with them to the parties, but opted to walk home because "it was a nice night."
He said they didn't have the cue to walk across the intersection, but that the road was clear of traffic.
"I've made that walk 100 times in my life at that hour," Dolphin said. "If the road is clear, you're going to cross the intersection.
"I will not forget a certain detail from that night, as long as I live, the road was clear when we started walking," he continued. "The officers weren't in line of sight when we started walking, they appeared so quickly."
Dolphin said he'd like to believe they wouldn't have crossed the road if they saw emergency lights flashing or heard sirens.
The investigation report concluded that Van De Putte "is at fault and his actions caused the collision." Slota was responding to a "heightened security call" and had "Neil Vandeputte (SIC) survived the crash, he would have been subject to the issuance of 39:4-32 (Pedestrians shall not cross roadway against 'stop' or red signal at a crosswalk ... )," the report said.
Slota, a member of the department for 10 years, remains on patrol, Paprota said. According to public records, the officer's salary is $111,392 annually.
The Element of Surprise
Experts say officers are given leeway to turn off their emergency lights and sirens in order to protect the "element of surprise" when responding to a call.
Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD detective and adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said it's a tactical maneuver.
"It's about the element of surprise and putting the officer at a tactical advantage," he said. "In the age of terrorism, you hear something at a nuclear power plant, the red flags have to come up. ... You have to give that cop the benefit of the doubt given the circumstances surrounding that specific location."
Former Newark police Captain Jon Shane, an assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, echoed a similar sentiment.
"You wouldn't want to ride up to a bank robbery with your emergency lights on, you would want to have that element of surprise on your side," Shane said. "Think about how bad it could be. ... Bank robbers heard you or saw you coming, they might retreat bank into the bank, and take people hostage."
But the investigation report states Slota did not have his lights on "due to light vehicle traffic."
A similar situation in March that happened in Gloucester County led to a change in policy among all police departments in the county.
A 10-year-old Franklin Township boy was hit and killed by an officer responding to a call, leading the prosecutor in that county to enforce a policy in which all officers had to use lights and sirens when exceeding the posted speed limit by 20 mph.
'Starting to Sink In'
In the months following Van De Putte's death, Yaar-Sharkey said the incident is finally "starting to sink in more."
A student at Drew University in Madison, Yaar-Sharkey said her son had such a bright future and she was looking forward to him being a father one day.
"He was so sweet and gentle," she said.
"It's really difficult," Yaar-Sharkey said. "I don't think I'll ever be the same. ... It is just really hard to swallow."
Dolphin, whose friendship with Van De Putte was growing stronger in the months before his death, said he'd like to see something substantive come from the incident.
"It's been really hard," he said. "How do you make sense out of all this? Neil's death is totally senseless. I just wish it didn't have to be meaningless."
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.